Career Exploration Programme Gives MBAs More Options

September 27, 2017 Shanghai – CEIBS MBA students recently received advice from ten executives in seven different fields, part of the MBA Department Career Development Centre’s (CDC) efforts to prepare them for life after graduation. The event was held on CEIBS Shanghai Campus. The topics covered included:-

Marketing

B2C: Two CEIBS GEMBA alumna – Marketing Director at Kimberly-Clark Ms. Sofia Huang (GEMBA 2018) and BU Business Planning, Strategy, Knowledge & Insights Director of Coca-Cola Greater China Ms. Gillian Zhang (GEMBA17) – got the first session off to a great start. Along with consumer goods industry trends, they also shared some of the challenges marketers are facing, most notably fierce competition from local competitors, emerging players in segmented markets and the internet’s impact on the structure of the value chain.

B2B: During her talk, Senior Director of Global Strategy from Honeywell Technology Solutions Ms. Doris Du illustrated the differences among strategic marketing, customer marketing, product marketing and marketing communication. Among the many tips she provided was the need to thoroughly understand the nuances of these different marketing approaches as this will help MBAs stand out in interviews.

Healthcare

Principal, Management Consulting at QuintilesIMS China Ms. Eva Zhang and Director of Strategic Planning for North Asia at QuintilesIMS China Mr. Kings Wang were invited to host the Healthcare session. After providing a comprehensive introduction of the healthcare value chain, they highlighted trends towards innovation, patient centricity and big data as essential elements for MBAs to grasp in order to develop successful careers in the sector.

Management Consulting

Managing Director of Accenture Mr. John Shen (MBA 2000) shared many personal insights into strategy consulting during his presentation. He emphasised how important it is to ‘focus’ in order to succeed in the industry. For MBAs preparing for interviews with consultancy firms, Shen highlighted passion, excellence, intellectual curiosity, structural thinking, effective communication, and creative thinking as the key qualities that consultancy firms are looking for. He also encouraged MBAs to make an extra effort to understand the digital economy along with mastering courses in micro economics, corporate finance and game theory.

Corporate Strategy

Strategy Alliance & Partnership Lead at Pfizer Innovative Health Dr. Cherrie Che shared her experience in corporate strategy versus management consulting. She encouraged MBAs to explore the former as it provides a better platform to learn an industry in-depth and, importantly, have more impact on a business.

Venture Capital/Private Equity

Founding Partner of Delta Capital, Mr. Greg Ye, began by providing a contextual look at the history of VC/PE. “This industry moves fast, has a high return along with high risk, so firms are looking for people with great learning potential, financial knowledge, analytical and people skills,” he said. He went on to highlight the importance of effective time management. “As a PE manager, spending most of your time helping your portfolio companies is much more important than looking for new deals,” he said.

Internet

Director of Business Strategy in the Mobile Internet Group at Tencent, Ms. Joo Yi, shared her knowledge of the internet industry. She began by explaining the business structure of internet companies such as Tencent. She then analysed the likely fit for MBA career switchers in functions such as; strategic analysis, business development, investment, marketing and project management. She urged students to pay close attention to technology trends in order to demonstrate strong learning capability.

Investment Banking
Managing Director of China Renaissance, Mr. Kevin Xie, shared his own story with Renaissance. He emphasised the importance of ‘passion’ and a ‘can do attitude’ in the IB industry. While hard skills are comparatively easier to teach, he also reminded students of the importance of a detail orientated approach. “Only by providing invaluable services can you show how honoured you are to serve your clients,” he said.

The Career Exploration Programme is one of many events hosted by CEIBS Career Development Centre (CDC). Recruiters promoting full-time jobs and internships are welcome to contact the CDC at +86-21-2890 5142 or cdc@ceibs.edu.